The forthcoming musical drama, which stars Debra Messing and Katharine McPhee, has been devised by Broadway writer Theresa Rebeck.
"I'm well aware of NBC's desperate need for a hit, and I'm not afraid of it," Rebeck told New York Magazine. "I'm perfectly capable of delivering that.
"Where I do get scared is when they ask me to do things they don't understand, like constantly shoving the story toward big cathartic, climactic moments. Now, sometimes that's not a bad idea, I'm interested in that in my plays. And sometimes it is a bad idea, and we come to blows."
The award-winning scribe added: "I'm sure they think we're nuts. But I think that, too. We are nuts. Theatre people are different. They have a passionate and gracious volatility. That's why we're writing about them!"
Rebeck went on to insist that NBC has "tremendous respect" for the Smash production team.
"They put a whole bunch of theatre artists at the top of this show for a reason," she insisted.
Smash premieres on Monday, February 6 at 10/9c on NBC. It will air on Sky Atlantic in the UK.
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Watch a seven-minute preview for Smash below:
